Shows / The Kākā by Bernard Hickey
The Kākā by Bernard Hickey
Bernard Hickey and friends explore Aotearoa’s political economy together.
thekaka.substack.com
Episodes
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe Hoon: Luxon vs density; Budget 2023’s political fallout; the RBNZ’s dovish hike; and Five Eyes’ ‘Volt Typhoon’ warning
TLDR: The week’s news in Aotearoa’s political economy I covered via The Kākā for subscribers included: * The Labour Government’s announcement it would pay NZ…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyDawn Chorus: National/Act edge ahead
TL;DR: National/ACT could govern alone after October 14 if last night’s 1News/Kantar poll was replicated in the election, although Christopher Luxon remains…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyLuxon kills the hopes of Townhouse Nation
TL;DR: National Leader Christopher Luxon looks set to abandon within weeks the bipartisan ‘Townhouse Nation’ policy agreed and championed by his deputy Nicola…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyRecycle the ETS cash++ into emissions cuts here
TL;DR: The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) is looking at a ‘carbon dividend’ scheme that would recycle cash from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) back…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyWhy Budget 2023 is more austere than it appears
TL;DR: Stronger-than-forecast net migration and population growth looks set to make Labour’s last Budget before the election on October 14 more austere and…
The Kākā by Bernard Hickey$140m well spent at $16.20/tonne
TL;DR: The Government has adopted some of the US-style ‘Green’ industrial policy that is proving so effective in ramping up emissions reductions there…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe Hoon: Budget 2023, the $5 prescription fee, market studies, Luxon’s (un)popularity and two curious foxes
TLDR: The week’s news in Aotearoa’s political economy I covered via The Kākā for paying subscribers included: * All the key details from Budget 2023 on…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyDawn Chorus: Interest rate warnings after Budget 2023
TL;DR: Bank economists last night firmed up their forecasts for an Official Cash Rate as high as 6.0% before the election after judging Budget 2023 to be more…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyBudget 2023: Some rabbits, a few more houses and a higher trust tax rate
TL;DR: The Labour Government has unveiled a couple of middle-class welfare policies in its last Budget before the October 14 election, which is on a knife edge…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe fire fueled by our housing and poverty crises
TL;DR: The Loafers Lodge fire has exposed the extent of Aotearoa’s housing and poverty crises, just days before the Labour Government will unveil yet another…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyDawn Chorus: Luxon painting himself into an unpopular and power-less corner
TL;DR: Christopher Luxon’s decision to rule out National governing with Te Pāti Māori and to sound a Don Brash-like ‘one person, one vote’ alarm appears to be…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe Hoon: National ruling out TPM; the end of the Washington consensus; a call for more tax on the wealthiest
TLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and Aotearoa’s political economy I covered via The Kākā for paying subscribers included: * Migration stats showing…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyWhat a bank profits market study should focus on
TL;DR: PM Chris Hipkins as good as confirmed yesterday a market study into banks would be announced before the election and happen some time in the next year…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon: Railmageddons; climate politics, tax and drone strikes
TLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and Aotearoa’s political economy I covered via The Kākā for paying subscribers included: * A screed of bank results…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyIt’s official: our banks are profitability world-beaters
TL;DR: A screed of bank results in the coming week are expected to show yet more surges in net profit from the big four that dominate our economy and fuel our…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyGovt throttles rebate scheme for electric cars
TL;DR: - Transport Minister Michael Wood announced changes to the Government’s much-more-successful-than-expected Clean Car Discount scheme this morning that…
The Kākā by Bernard Hickey'It's medicine or food. We can't afford both'
TL;DR: - A survey of 150 pharmacists last month has found the $5 co-payment fee for prescriptions is leading to widespread distress, mental health incidents…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to April 29
TLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and Aotearoa’s political economy I covered via The Kākā for paying subscribers included: * An Inland Revenue Department…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyPM goes back to the old favourites: high migration, low investment & reigniting the housing market
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TL;DR: Prime Minister Chris Hipkins firmed up his re-election strategy this…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyPM to downplay capital tax hole and instead signal post-flood austerity
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TL;DR: PM Chris Hipkins is expected to squelch any revival of talk about a…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyInterview: Inside Wellington's local government democratic deficit
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TL;DR: Wellington City Council officials have repeatedly acted to block new…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to April 22
TLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and Aotearoa’s political economy covered on The Kākā for paying subscribers included: * Council staff in Wellington going…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyInterview: Rod Carr warns Govt is falling behind on climate
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TL;DR: Next week the Climate Commission will unveil its draft advice for…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyGovt defends NZ Steel's 25-year extension
TL;DR: The Government professes to take emissions reductions seriously, but has repeatedly made policy decisions in recent months that allow our … This is a…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyCouncils' staff go rogue on densification
TL;DR: Even when young voters elect councillors and MPs they want with demands for more housing, there are plenty of forces behind the scenes able to subvert…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to April 15
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and Aotearoa’s political economy…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyBad weather delays emissions-cutting plan
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TL;DR: It never rains but it pours. The Government has just had to delay…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyAccelerating our churn and burn economy
TL;DR: The Government has just loosened migration settings dramatically in a last-minute attempt to stop a systemic health system crisis turning into a…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyA financial reckoning of a departing PM's legacy
TL;DR: Former PM Jacinda Ardern will give her valedictory speech at 5.30 pm in Parliament today. She will rightly be farewelled with affection by her…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to April 1
TLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and Aotearoa’s political economy covered on The Kākā for paying subscribers included: * revelations that the Reserve Bank…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe climate landmine under our economy (a housing market with bits tacked on)
TL;DR: Once a year, every year, from now on, in our not-so-slow-cooking climate crisis, there will be a moment when the most important number in Aotearoa’s own…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyRBNZ paying billions to banks in interest, plus lending $19b cheaply to banks
TL;DR: The taxpayer is set to pay banks upwards of $3.3 billion in interest costs on over $53 billion of cash balances they’ve built up in settlement accounts…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to March 25
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and Aotearoa’s political economy…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyWayne Brown's #Auxit moment
TL;DR: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyIs bundling restricting electricity competition?
TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either or both the…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyWhat the US and European bank rescues mean for us
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyInside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to March 19
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeySlow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
TLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the RMA reforms with. Along with housing affordability effects, I think it’s…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyLabour's climate policy bonfire just blew up the ETS
TLDR: Bonfires can be dangerous things when they get out of control. They also create a lot of smoke and heat and burn the grass. I hate to think of the…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyWasn't this the rainy day we saved for?
TLDR: PM Chris Hipkins announced a further $1 billion of spending cuts on emissions reduction last night, arguing the Government needed to ‘cut its cloth to…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to March 12
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.com TLDR: This week’s news in geo-politics and the political economy covered on…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyYoung prefer wealth tax to fuel tax, while the old oppose such taxes
TLDR: A survey ordered by the Ministry of Transport has found more than 80% of young people wanted a wealth tax, congestion charges and/or pollution pricing to…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyFord Ranger Man drives over Michael Wood
TLDR: This is how politics works in the real world: outrage erupts over the prospect of fuel taxes being used to build cycle paths, so that plan is dumped…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to March 4
TLDR: This week’s news in geo-politics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included: * National released its plan to repeal Three Waters and push the…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyInterview: How to look through inflation shocks
TLDR: I interviewed Reserve Bank Chief Economist Paul Conway soon after the central bank announced it had decided to go ahead with a 50 basis point hike in the…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyNational chooses to think just as magically as Labour on water infrastructure, taxes and debt
TLDR: National has confirmed it will repeal Three Waters legislation and disestablish the four new water entities set up under the Labour Government’s reforms…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe hoon for the week that was to Feb 26
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.comTLDR: This week, the clean up after cyclone Gabrielle forced the Government…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyWhat building back better could look like
TLDR: The Government announced the beginning of its Gabrielle emergency response last night, pledging an initial $300 million to help repair roads, bridges…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe week that was to Feb 19
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.comTLDR: This week, Cyclone Gabrielle wrecked the Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and parts…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyWill this climate crisis event be wasted too?
TLDR: So what would it take to shock Aotearoa’s voters and politicians into taking more substantial action to reduce climate emissions and prepare for climate…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe week that was to Feb 11
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thekaka.substack.comTLDR: The Labour Government cleared its decks this week of some unpopular…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyHipkins clears the decks and crouches down low
TLDR: He’s done it. New PM Chris Hipkins has ‘cleared the decks’ of all manner of flotsam and jetsam to make the Labour Government’s ship go faster and have a…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyWhen a $5 fee costs us all $2.65 billion
TLDR: The phrase ‘penny wise and pound foolish’ is one that applies across much of the Government’s approach to spending and investment over the last 30 years…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe week that was to Feb 4
TLDR: This week in the podcast of our weekly hoon webinar for paying subscribers, Peter Bale and myself talked with Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick and…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyDawn Chorus: Classic middle class welfare to win 'Ford Ranger Man'
TLDR: Yesterday’s decision to extend again the Ukraine War fuel tax cut of 25c/litre was portrayed by the Labour Government as it focusing on ‘bread and…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyIsn't this the rainy day we're supposed to be saving up for?
TLDR: Aotearoa’s Government effectively decided without debate in late 2021 when it created the $4.5 billion Climate Emergency Response Fund that it would be…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyDawn Chorus: 'Atmospheric River' swamps Auckland, its Mayor and our climate debate
TLDR: The cleanup and the post-mortem have begun, even though the rain just keeps falling in Auckland after Aotearoa’s most expensive ever climate event.The…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyThe week that was to Jan 28
TLDR: Chris Hipkins signalled in his first week as PM he was open to loosening migration settings and would ‘rein in’ unnecessary Government spending to focus…
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyHipkins eyes cheap & fast growth lever
TLDR: New PM Chris Hipkins looks set to loosen migration settings to buy the Government a surge of cheap economic growth that keeps interest rates and…